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Trials & tribulations of the domestically challengedThu, 17 Aug 2017 07:03:52 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://s2.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngSharynm's Bloghttps://sharynm.wordpress.com
Never Buy Major Appliances When Mercury Is Retrogradehttps://sharynm.wordpress.com/2014/07/05/never-buy-major-appliances-when-mercury-is-retrograde/
https://sharynm.wordpress.com/2014/07/05/never-buy-major-appliances-when-mercury-is-retrograde/#respondSat, 05 Jul 2014 04:16:02 +0000http://sharynm.wordpress.com/?p=557Continue reading →]]>I have this washing machine (see, it’s right over there —>). I bought it not long after I moved out of home, so I was probably in my late teens or early twenties at the time.

This washing machine has worked faithfully for the last 25 years or so. Right up until about a month ago when I noticed a small amount of water on the floor whenever I did a load of washing.

Being the sensible type, I ignored it.

I ignored it that is, until about a fortnight ago when that little bit of water became a deluge.

Thinking that I should maybe do something about it, I pulled the machine out from the wall and checked the hoses. They all seemed fine but there were a lot of black plastic pieces on the floor underneath the machine, which led me to decide that my faithful machine had gone to the great laundry room in the sky.

It was time for me to buy a replacement.

Later in the week, I gleefully trotted off to buy a new washing machine at the EOFY sales. After dragging a poor salesman back and forward between the top loaders & front loaders for half an hour or so, I finally settled on a lovely looking Hisense 7.5kg front loader. Best of all, they would deliver AND install it on Sunday! I was in shopping heaven.

The next day my machine arrives and is installed and it looks so sparkly and new that I’m really looking forward to doing the washing on Monday morning.

Until….

Bright and early Monday morning I rush out with a load of sheets, load the machine, throw in some powder and press START.

Nothing happens!

So I get out the instructions, check that everything is working and…. still nothing.

I check the troubleshooting section of the manual which tells me to make sure the powerpoint works – check! Then make sure the transport bolts were all removed – check!

Still no power to my machine. Finally, I ring Hisense to get a warranty call.

The phone rings for a long time and someone comes on saying “operators are all busy, can we take your number and call you back?” Now that’s great customer service I thought to myself and left my number expecting a call back in the foreseeable future.

About 4 hours later, I decide to try them again as I’d had no return call. After taking all my details, they said that their local contractor would contact me in 2-3 days! Well, that didn’t impress me, but I really couldn’t see the point in chucking a tanty about it.

THREE business days later, I get a text message advising that my claim had been approved for a replacement. Which quite frankly, seemed to me to be the sort of thing that should have happened on the day of the claim, not 3 days later.

Obviously, it was tanty time…

I rang Hisense and they advised that they were really sorry, but mid-next week I should get a replacement. Being unusually assertive for me, I advised that I really appreciated their sorriness, but it was totally unacceptable as I’d spent my money nearly a week ago and still didn’t have the goods that I’d paid for. So they decided I could get a store replacement.

Now, it was time to ring Good Guys and organise the replacement. By this stage I was fairly cynical that it was all going to work, but I was MAAAAAAD and I wasn’t going to back down. Fortunately, Good Guys were awesome and after a quick confirming call to Hisense, they promised to deliver a replacement the next day.

So yesterday (Friday) nearly a week after purchasing my brand new machine, a replacement was delivered. It was a bit late for me to wash then, but I was eagerly anticipating doing a couple of loads on the weekend.

Saturday morning arrives and after dragging myself from the comfort of my bed, I go out and put a load of washing on with no problems. About 45 minutes later, I wandered outside to see how it was doing only to find the laundry floor awash with soapy water!

Turns out, the pipe that the washing machine emptying tube goes into must have a crack or something. I’ve successfully solved my original water on the floor problem by moving the outlet hose into the laundry tub.

Sooooo if you know anyone who wants a Simpson Riviera washing machine that looks it’s age, but apparently works well (except I broke off one of the feet moving it) – just let me know….

Fortunately, Mercury went direct again on 2nd July. I’ll be thinking very carefully about any changes I need to make in October though.

Step 2. Combine all ingredients (except Tim Tams)

Step 3. Spread a layer of brownie goo in a pan

Step 4. Mmmmm Tim Tams

Wishing I’d bought 2 packs of Tim Tams. 1 and a bit for brownie testing, some for eating

Step 5. Cover with more brownie goo

It becomes rapidly apparent I needed more brownie goo, and there was going to be precious little left in the bowl for me to lick

Step 6. Cook for 30 minutes at 190C

Step 7. Lick the bowl

Yummmmmmmmo

Step 8. It’s done when a skewer comes out clean, then cool in the pan for 15 minutes

Ouch! I burned my mowf on the skewer

Step 9. Remember that you should have used baking paper to line the tin

Dammit! Wonder if I can stick it back together with the fudge?

Step 10. Try drowning it in faux cream to see if that helps

The good news is…. because it’s faux cream, logic declares it’s full of faux calories

VERDICT: Tim Tam brownies are not as nice as they sound. Apart from all the cooking problems that may have been related to my lack of skills – the chocolate melts, but the biscuits stay hard. In fact the biscuits get harder. Maybe if you crushed the biscuits up, or soaked them in something for an hour or two first… but I think you’d be better off making brownies AND having Tim Tams.

]]>https://sharynm.wordpress.com/2012/11/03/test-driving-tim-tam-brownies-recipe/feed/3sharynm1 GatherTheIngredients2 Oops Scuse fingers3 Spreada de broonie goo4 Mmm Tim Tams5 Top with more brownie goo6 Into the oven at 190 ish for around 30 mins7 Lickin' the bowl8 I burned my mouth on the skewer9 Even fudge icing won't save this2012-11-01 12.56.16Rainbow Cake in a Jarhttps://sharynm.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/rainbow-cake-in-a-jar/
https://sharynm.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/rainbow-cake-in-a-jar/#respondSat, 10 Dec 2011 10:43:29 +0000http://sharynm.wordpress.com/?p=472Continue reading →]]>A couple of months ago I decided to make rainbow cake in a jar from this recipe:

As you will notice, the recipe is both straightforward and easy to follow.

In my defense however, it is done using imperial measurement units rather than the more civilized metric units used in Australia.

While the instructions tell you to grease the pan then put the paper in. Unless you have been initiated into the mysteries of the paper and its non-stick secrets, you probably should grease the paper too. Bacon brownies are somewhat more annoying to eat when you have to spit back bits of waxed paper with every bite.

Bacon rind is a delicious part of the bacon experience, however it can give the brownies a “tied together” look and feel that can be somewhat annoying when trying to cut them. It also distracts from the eating when a single bite pulls the entirety of the bacon out of the brownie. For a better brownie experience, I suggest removing the rind before cooking.